The Moldova Way
• Team ASL "A Spanish Life"

The Moldovan Way

To describe the systems that support our lives in the West would be a verycomplex subject that would take many years of study and resources. Ourwhole country is one big system that has taken many years to be put intoplace. Everything from introducing a new bill in the Commons to having apint of milk delivered to the front door needs a complicated and wellthought out plan to ensure its smooth and efficient running, so that our livescan be as comfortable as possible. Remove these systems and we would beleft in total chaos.Surprise, surprise, things in Moldova are different. I could start byexplaining the food chain. If one finds themselves without any money, thenone cannot buy any food so it may be best to start with the workingenvironment. One needs work to get money to be able to buy the food, butto explain the employment situation one must look at the economy of thecountry and subsequently the Government. As this is where the buck stops,but a system can only be a system when it is continuous so the explanationis made simple. There aren’t any.Some people that do not work and a lot that do get paid by the governmentmainly because there isn’t many privately owned businesses. The non-workers can sometimes get money in the form of a pension depending onwhat they did before becoming unemployed. But this is not extended tomany. Payments can also be made to families who have children ineducation.The system cannot work when the government runs out of money, which itdoes, on a regular basis, and then people find that there isn’t any money forthem.Sometimes they are without money for months on end. The acceptance ofthe people with this problem is one that never ceases to amaze me, ‘we willmanage, and we have done so before’. Can you imagine the millions ofunemployed in our country not getting their weekly cheques, let alone themillions of government workers? Within hours there would be cries to sackthe government, and within a day they would be. Not a chance here, if oneever said anything bad about the government one would more than likelyfind oneself with ‘big problem’.

A phrase that seems to be used in everyday life. There isn’t anyunderstanding from the leaders of this country if one fails to pay the rent onones state owned home, one is evicted. The monopoly on the people goes alot deeper than this; in 1990 the currency was roubles. One rouble wouldbuy a loaf of bread, milk, sugar and sour cream, and one could still be leftwith some change. Rent was about sixteen roubles a month. With anaverage wage of two hundred and fifty roubles a month, life was good. Thencame independence, and over night the rouble was devalued and along camethe Lei. The average wage then went to one hundred Lei a month. Rent wasthen increased to seventy Lei. For one Lei it was now only possible to buyone bottle of milk.The only thing left to do for the government was to get their hands on all themoney that the people had saved all their lives which was in the banks. Soan exchange rate was set. One Lei = 1000 roubles. Everyone’s savings werewiped out over night.I wonder who spent their money before this law was passed?The water supply is something else out of the dark ages. Undrinkable byWestern standards it is totally controlled by the authorities, also the gas,electricity and heating. One week you could get only cold water, then thehot would come on for a few days, and then off all together, most timeswithout telling the people when this would happen. The gas which mosthouseholds use for cooking is supplied by Russia, when the payments fromMoldova become overdue; Russia cuts off the gas supply. Electricity has tobe rationed and the heating does not come on until late autumn. Of courseall these supplies have to be paid for by the end user, there is one price forthe cold and then one for the hot water, but you have to pay for the coldbefore it is heated. The scam does not stop there if, as in most cases onecannot pay the bill because the government has not paid the people, theyjust cut off the supply of gas, and add the price onto the electricity and thenonto the rent. A very good way to deal with bad debts and bad payers. In myown short time here I have experienced no gas, electricity and water all atthe same time.

These basic requirements for mankind are in the control of people of power,who haven’t any consideration or compassion for its people. They also withhold wages for six months but still expect the people to pay the bills.More surprising is the expectations of these people. Once when theelectricity was turned off without warning a woman was trapped in a liftbetween floors, she settled down for the night when attempts to open thedoors failed. No fuss, no screaming just calm acceptance of her situation. Aminor example but one that has deep rooted implications. If one beats thedog long enough, hard enough he will do your bidding, so do the people ofMoldova.The corruption is deeply in bedded into the system, but people are too busysurviving to take much notice. When medical supplies that are given byWestern countries as aid find their way into the street markets and not thehospitals, no one says anything. Everyone knows, but no one cares, whyshould he or she, they can do nothing about it. Who could they complain toanyway, the police run a terror campaign ranging from robbery to torture?One can buy most judges for a few dollars, those that cannot be bought areterrorised and sometimes killed by the Mafia who are able to demand apercentage from every business.Moldova is a country thirty years behind everywhere in the West, it has apolicy of stealing from the poor and keeping it.If we in England believe the gap between the rich and poor is getting biggerhere it could not be measured. Most people in a position of power abuse it.The heads of education that take from everyone that can afford to give areno better than the worst scum on earth. If a country abuses its children it isnot only stealing from the young, but also stealing its own future. Forwithout them, they have none.To find an answer for anyone is hard, to find the solution will be impossible.The biggest problem for most apart from food is the fact that there are nochoices. Students are coming out of the education system at an alarming rateto find that there isn’t any work for them.

Most industries cannot be supported and if they could their products wouldhave to be sold at such a cheap price that there wouldn’t be any profit. In thepast this did not matter everyone earned the same and the richer parts ofRussia would support the poorer parts so as to maintain the status quo.In the new era of capitalism the strong are leaving the weak far behind. Thisnew generation of confused youth with its knowledge of the better life in theWest have no way to use its energy, it is kept locked away unwanted andnot needed. How long this will be the case is uncertain, there seems to be noorganised anger, just individuals with the same problem. Maybe it will staythis way forever, or maybe the history of their children will be marked by abitter conflict for freedom that for the people of today is impossible.